Aiteo to build 100,000bpd refinery, increase upstream activities

28 April 2014, Lagos – Indigenous oil company, Aiteo has the technical know how to play in the upstream and is set to fully diversify into the upstream sector of the Nigerian petroleum industry and is also planning to develop a 100,000 barrels per day Greenfield refinery, which is expected to come on stream by 2017.

According to oil industry sources the company’s refinery project is presently at the conceptualization stages and it aims to fast track the development and construction of the refinery so that actual production from the refinery can commence.

The company it was learnt after having harnessed and mastered the downstream business, is now strategically moving into the upstream sector to consolidate its hold on the Nigerian energy sector.

The company participated in the bidding process for the acquisition of oil blocks belonging to Shell, where it emerged winner.

“Each of the bidders was given equal opportunity to bid for the oil blocks, so it is unnecessary, unfair and irresponsible for people to start casting aspersions on the quality and experience of Aiteo,” a source told Vanguard in reaction to controversies surrounding the bidding process.

The source disclosed that Aiteo, which is one of the fastest growing energy companies in Nigeria, has proven its capacity in the oil sector, given its track record since over 15 years ago.

Continuing, the source said, “Aiteo is wholly a Nigerian company; to cast aspersion on its managerial capacity is more or less like saying that Nigerians are not competent to compete globally.

“The current Shell bid won by Aiteo is an opportunity to place another Nigerian integrated energy company on the global scene.

The company is a full service energy group, offering expert capabilities in various areas of the energy value chain, such as bulk petroleum products storage, petroleum products marketing, supply and trading and retail service station network.

Others are crude oil exploration and production, oilfield services, power generation and distribution and gas operations among others.

The company’s bulk petroleum storage facility in Port Harcourt and Apapa, have capacity for 110 million litres and 210 million litres of petroleum products respectively.

The company is aiming to grow its shareholder value by investing in development and production assets onshore and offshore Nigeria that provide a combination of early cash flow and potentials to discover substantial hydrocarbon reserves.

To achieve its aim, the company entered into a number of partnership with reputable multinational exploration and production companies possessing the right technical capabilities to evaluate and appraise opportunities and develop its assets.